Zhipu AI (Z.ai) officially launched GLM-5 on February 11, 2026, a frontier language model marking a foundational transition: from code generation to true agentic engineering.
With approximately 745 billion total parameters and 44 billion active parameters, GLM-5 is not only China's strongest open-source model class release, but also a statement of technological independence: it was trained entirely on Huawei Ascend chips.
Technical architecture: Mixture of Experts at scale
GLM-5 uses a Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture with 256 experts, of which 8 are activated per token, resulting in 5.9% sparsity. The jump from previous generation is substantial:
- Parameters: from 355B (GLM-4.7) to 744B.
- Training data: expanded to 28.5 trillion tokens.
A key innovation is adoption of DeepSeek-style sparse attention (reference), designed for stronger compute efficiency at scale. The 200K context window balances long-document processing with practical inference performance.
GameBoy test and the long-task era
One unconventional capability demo was the "GameBoy test." Similar to legacy games requiring resource planning over long sessions, modern AI agents must maintain state and execute long multi-step plans without losing coherence.
Researchers evaluated GLM-5 with extended multi-step challenges, validating sustained long-horizon reasoning - a key requirement for production-grade agentic systems, not only demos.
Five core performance domains
GLM-5 performs strongly in areas that define next-generation AI:
- Creative Writing - advanced stylistic range and original content generation.
- Code Generation - debugging and systems-engineering behavior comparable to Claude Opus 4.6.
- Advanced Multi-Step Reasoning - strong logical performance for math/scientific tasks.
- Agentic Intelligence - built-in planning, tool use, and browsing support.
- Long-Context Processing - robust handling of large documents and research material.
Agent Mode (beta): from conversation to delivery
GLM-5 introduces Agent Mode, shifting interaction from chat-first to delivery-first. The model can decompose tasks, orchestrate tools, and execute complete workflows.
Key capabilities include:
- Data insights: upload data and instantly generate charts (bar/line/pie) with exports (xlsx/csv/png).
- Smart writing: from outline to final draft with step control and export to PDF/Word.
- Full-stack development: stronger execution on complex instructions and engineering workflows.
Benchmarks and market impact
Positioned by many as a potential "GPT-5 challenger," GLM-5 targets parity or advantage against GPT-5.2 and Claude Opus 4.5 in reasoning-heavy tasks. Internal reporting suggests strong open-source-leading results, including scenarios where it exceeds Gemini 3 Pro.
A notable detail: the mysterious "Pony Alpha" model that appeared on OpenRouter in February 2026 and impressed the community was later linked to a stealth GLM-5 variant.
Economic impact was immediate. After launch, Hong Kong-listed AI equities rallied, with Zhipu AI and peers seeing strong short-term gains.
Conclusion: paradigm shift in progress
GLM-5 is not just another large language model. It signals the transition from "vibe coding" to agentic engineering. In an era where models design systems, diagnose deep bugs, and manage long-duration tasks with real autonomy, GLM-5 offers a powerful open alternative with strong strategic implications.
The model is available through Z.ai and WaveSpeed API, with open-weight availability under MIT terms expected.
Sources: 1. Binance Square - Zhipu AI's GLM-5 Launch 2. Silicon Republic - Zhipu GLM-5 Launch 3. CNBC - Chinese AI Stocks Rally 4. SCMP - Zhipu AI GLM-5 Challenge 5. Reuters - GLM-5 Release
